5 Comics You Have to Read This Month

Share

5 Comics You Have to Read This Month

Ody-C

Image Comics

It's not always easy figuring out what comics to read. So we'll keep it simple: If you're only going to pick up a couple of titles right now, here are a handful that are worth your time and money. Of course, there's absolutely no way to cover every comic, so consider this a monthly sampler—and leave your own suggestions in the comments.

Ody-C

A trippy, gender-flipped version of Homer's Odyssey, Ody-C is an epic poem hurtling through space on psychedelic, science fiction wings. Scripted by Hawkeye and Sex Criminals writer Matt Fraction, it recasts Homer's male roles—heroes, villains, and gods—as women, transforming the hypermasculine battles of the ancient Greeks into a feminine but equally bloody affair. Instead of sacking the city of Troy, Odyssia leads her army to conquer the distant planet of Troila; instead of sailing across oceans, they sift through space in a ship powered by the minds of the crew. Here, mutiny isn't just an action but a crime of the mind, and one equally punishable by death. Knowing the classics helps, but if Christian Ward's art turns your crank, it might be worth learning them just to take the ride.

The Kitchen

Set in Hell's Kitchen during the iconically criminal 1970s, this new Vertigo comic follows three mob wives—Kath, Raven, and Angie—who end up taking over the family business after their husbands get sent up the river. (Think Goodfellas meets Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.) Written by Ollie Masters with art by Ming Doyle and killer colors by Jordie Bellaire, it's a surprisingly restrained crime comic, one that avoids flash in favor of the cold New York City winter lit by earthy, 1970s hues and occasional bursts of violence. With their men behind bars and no muscle to back them up, they find the money they collect starts coming up shorter and shorter—until finally something has to be done, and it isn't pretty.

Lazarus

Forever Carlyle is a lazarus: an enforcer for a powerful family with a way of simply ... not dying. This dystopian world where she lives might be technologically futuristic, but it's socially feudal. Rather than governments, the public is ruled by families—or factions—like the Carlyles who control all the resources and power and mete out justice much like medieval lords. A Carlyle daughter, Forever is ambivalent at best about her brutal role, but like most of us she's isn't trying to change the world—just live in it. People have been singing the praises of Lazarus for a while now, and the new hardcover collection of the first nine issues is as good an excuse as any to give this Greg Rucka and Michael Lark series a try.

Price: $35 for the hardcover, $1.99 for single issuesDate: Available nowWhere to Buy It:Image Comics, ComiXology, your local comic shop

Image Comics

Tooth and Claw

As a general rule, anthropomorphic fantasy stories aren't really our bag. Yes, Mouse Guard is adorable, but unless a story really holds up beyond the moderately-high concept of "people are animals," we lose interest. But Tooth and Claw by Kurt Busiek and Ben Dewey got our attention. Set in a great floating city powered by magic that is slowly disappearing, it introduces us to a young dog-boy named Dunstan, an ominous underclass of oppressed bison who live on the ground rather than in the air, and a witchy warthog who wants to summon a mythic hero back into existence, at a terrible cost. Again, we're only one issue in, but this fantasy coming-of-age tale hints at a richness of story and world that is worth exploring. Lead on, dog boy!

The Multiversity: Pax Americana**

This one's a bit of a deep cut. Unless you're intimately familiar with the Multiverse of DC Comics—and specifically the world of Watchmen—the latest entry in Grant Morrison's transdimensional, supremely meta series The Multiversity might not make a lot of sense. There's a presidential assassination in reverse, an artificial black hole in someone's head, and Doctor Manhattan claiming he can read the "thought bubbles" of other characters. What does it mean? Dunno. Hell, even if you're a huge Morrison fan, it still might leave you puzzling over the pages for days. But thanks to the consistently excellent art of Frank Quitely—and Morrison's aptitude for dropping a new idea every other panel—it'll look awfully good while it's flying over your head.